


Songwriting

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21624400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack is sick during a band writing session and gets frustrated.
Kudos: 3





	Songwriting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“Have any of you guys heard from Jack?” We were supposed to start fifteen minutes ago,” Rian asked Alex and Zack. The three of them were at Alex’s house and they were supposed to have a band writing session.  
“Maybe he got nervous. He said that he wanted to try writing lyrics, and that can be kind of daunting at first,” Alex replied.  
“Maybe, but I feel like he’d at least text us saying he was going to be a bit late,” Zack pointed out.  
Before anyone could say anything else, the door to Alex’s studio room was opened, and Jack walked through it. Everyone could immediately sense that something was off about him.  
“Sorry I’m late,” Jack said in a raspy voice.  
“You don’t sound like yourself, are you alright?” Alex asked as Jack sat on the couch next to him.  
“I have a bit of a cold,” Jack admitted.  
“We could’ve rescheduled, man,” Rian pointed out.  
“I know, but I’ve been looking forward to this for a while, I’m really excited to finally try to write lyrics!” Jack exclaimed, the excitement making him cough some.  
“Don’t get too excited there, man,” Alex said, rubbing Jack’s back.  
“Well, I guess we can work as planned. Jack, if you start to feel really terrible, tell us and we’ll just call it a day,” Zack instructed.  
“Will do. I mean, I’m mostly fine, I think. I just have some congestion, a sore throat, and a cough that is making my sore throat worse than it should be. I don’t think I have a temperature or anything, so I should be okay. It’s just a cold,” Jack explained.  
“As long as you’re sure. So, did you have any ideas or think of some stories like I suggested?” Alex asked.  
“Kind of. I totally forgot until yesterday, and that’s when I came down with this, so they’re more scattered ideas instead of a cohesive story,” Jack explained, coughing after.  
“That’s fine. I’ve written some of our songs like that, and we obviously only have hits, so it’s always gone really well,” Alex joked, making all of them laugh some.  
“What songs did you write like that?” Rian asked.  
“A couple songs on Nothing Personal, and a few off of Dirty Work,” Alex replied.  
“That’s cool. I bet Jack will write a great song, then,” Zack said, trying to build up his friend’s confidence. Jack gave him a small smile as a thank you.  
“Let me see what you’ve got,” Alex said, grabbing Jack’s lyric book and flipping through it.  
“This is all great to work with! I like the ideas about a party atmosphere. With the right words and sounds, we could make the listener feel like they’re at a party when they hear it. Did you want to focus on the good things about parties, or the bad?” Alex asked, handing Jack his book back.  
“Parties rule, what negative stuff could we write?” Jack joked.  
“We know that you of all people know the answer to that,” Zack replied, laughing some.  
“I think you guys should focus on the negatives. There’s a lot of positive, happy songs about parties. To flip it and talk about the bad things would be cool, and it would set your song apart from other similar ones,” Rian explained.  
“Rian’s got a point. We could make it more specific to our lifestyle, like how people recognize us and want to know us for the reputation that’s associated with us. Like, how we’re expected to be the life of the party,” Alex suggested.  
“I like that a lot. Hey, I’ll be right back,” Jack said, getting up. He grabbed the box of tissues from the bathroom, since he could feel his congestion starting to get worse. He came back to the studio and sat back down on the couch before blowing his nose.  
“Are you doing okay, man?” Zack asked.  
“Yeah, I’m all good, let’s get started,” Jack stated.  
“Zack and I are going to start thinking about our parts. We’ll be on the other side of the room to use the soundboard,” Rian said, taking his chair to the other side of the room as Zack followed him. After about ten minutes, Jack came up with a possible chorus with the help of Alex.  
“This is great so far! I knew you’d be good at this!” Alex exclaimed, making Jack smile some.  
“Thanks man. It’s weird knowing that this will be an actual song that real people will hear and give their opinions on,” Jack replied, sneezing some.  
“Yeah, it can feel weird, but all that matters is that you love it,” Alex explained.  
“Hey, we hate to interrupt you, but can you come here for a second, Alex?” Zack requested.  
“We need your help with something, and want to get your opinion on something else,” Rian added.  
“Yeah, absolutely. Jack, start trying to write the first verse. I’ll be back to help with it in a few,” Alex instructed, walking over to Rian and Zack.  
Jack looked down at his notebook in frustration, not knowing where to start. As he was trying to think and focus, he started to develop a headache. He couldn’t tell if it was from staring at his notebook, or from the sounds coming from the soundboard.  
On top of this, Jack’s nose started to run, so he had to keep a tissue pressed to his nose, which heavily distracted him. Between the congestion and the pounding headache, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.  
“Ugh!” he groaned, getting the attention of his band.  
“Are you okay, Jack?” Rian asked, sounding concerned.  
“Just a bit frustrated,” Jack replied, severely downplaying how he was feeling.  
“Songwriting is like that. I usually get my best work when I’m frustrated, so just keep trying, and I’ll come help in a minute,” Alex said, turning back to the soundboard with Rian and Zack.  
Jack looked down at his page again, and still couldn’t think of how to start the song. Every time he got a trace of an idea, his head would pound harder, making it nearly impossible for him to concentrate.  
Once he reached the highest point of his anger, he was mad at everything. He didn’t even want to look at his notebook anymore, due to how much frustration it had caused him. He shut it, then aimlessly threw it. Seconds later, it hit Alex in the back of the head, and Jack froze up.  
“Shit! Jack, what the fuck was that?” Alex yelled.  
“I- I didn’t-“ Jack stuttered, not able to make a coherent sentence. Suddenly, he burst into tears, much to everyone’s surprise.  
“Jack, man-“ Rian started. He stopped when Jack bolted up and ran downstairs to Alex’s living room. He buried his face into a pillow as he continued to cry.  
At this point, he didn’t really know what the main reason for his tears was. He wasn’t sure if it was out of frustration about the song, or about how sick he was starting to feel, or out of embarrassment for hitting Alex with his notebook. He really wanted to apologize to his friend, but he didn’t want to face the entire and, and he couldn’t bear to see Alex mad at him.  
He wished that he had just stayed at home, he should’ve known that doing something that would cause so much frustration while feeling sick was a bad idea, but he still went because he wanted to have the company of his band. To him, being alone while sick was the worst, but this might’ve taken the cake in his mind.  
Seconds later, Alex walked into the living room, and felt his heart break a little when he saw Jack crying on the couch. He sat down and put his hand on Jack’s back. Jack looked up and saw Alex and was relieved that he didn’t look mad. He sat up and leaned his head on Alex’s shoulder.  
“Alex, I’m really-“ Jack cut himself off with a coughing fit, and Alex rubbed his back until the fit finally went away.  
“Calm yourself down, I’m not mad. I just want to know what caused what happened,” Alex stated.  
“I started to feel worse which made me unable to focus, and I guess that I just got super frustrated, and my first reaction was to throw my notebook. I’m really sorry for hitting you with it, Alex. Are you okay?” Jack asked back.  
“I’m fine, Jack. Don’t worry about me. I’ve tried to write songs while feeling under the weather, and it’s really hard, as you’ve discovered. You have to give lyrics a lot of thought and attention, and that can be so hard when you feel like shit. I also shouldn’t have left you on your own, since you’re so new to lyrics, so that was my bad. I think that this might be a good place to stop at for today, and Rian and Zack feel the same way. They’re both busy now, but why don’t I go back to your house with you, and we can just relax, and you’ll have someone to be with you. I know you hate being alone when you’re sick,” Alex suggested.  
“I’d really like that. Thank you so much, Alex. For the record, writing that probably would’ve been just as hard for me even if I weren’t sick,” Jack stated.  
“It might have been a challenge, but it wouldn’t have been as bad. It’s a lot easier to write without distractions, and feeing awful is definitely a big one. But songwriting isn’t easy, man; it’s hard, terrifying, and exiting all at once. I’ll always beat myself up, thinking that my ideas aren’t good enough. Some songs are super personal and putting them out into the world can be scary since everyone has an opinion. Our fans almost always like what we come up with, though, and I know they’ll love your song, too,” Alex explained, making the two of them smile.  
Alex quickly ran back upstairs to get everything he’d need, then came back downstairs with Zack and Rian. After everyone said their goodbyes, Alex and Jack got into Alex’s car, and drove to Jack’s house. When they got there, Alex helped Jack get comfortable on the couch, then brought him water and medicine.  
“Thanks for all of this, Alex,” Jack said, taking the medicine.  
“No problem, dude. By the way, I brought my overnight stuff, so I can stay here until you’re feeling better!” Alex said.  
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Jack asked.  
“Absolutely. You’d do the same for me, and maybe when you have some energy, we can even work on the song some,” Alex suggested.  
“That all sounds great to me. Thanks for being such a great friend,” Jack replied, coughing some.  
“That’s what best friends are for!” Alex exclaimed. Alex turned on a movie, and Jack fell asleep early into it.  
Alex ended up spending two nights with Jack, making sure that he had everything he needed, and did everything he could to help his friend feel better. Unfortunately, being around Jack so much made Alex catch Jack’s cold, but he didn’t mind, since he’d been able to help his friend out so much.  
Once they were both well again, they picked Jack’s’ song back up, and had a lot more luck with it. After a week, they had all of the lyrics and music written. They were all proud of the finished recording, especially Jack. In the end, they called the song Life of the Party.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is a request for CNF! I've been writing in any spare time I've had, so I plan on having more up soon! There will be a Christmas themed story going up tomorrow night that is also a request, which I'm excited to share! Please send in requests if you have them, I love writing them for you guys! I hope you all liked this story, and thank you so much for reading, it really does mean a lot. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
